Tile machine and cutter



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. FERNALD'. TILE MACHINE AND CUTTER.

N$ KN Q A TTOHNE Y8.

o M W N l WITNESSES THE mums PETERS co. FHQTO'LITHOY, WASHINGTON. a. c

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. FERNALD.

TILE MACHINE 'AND CUTTER. No. 493,077. Patented Mar. 7, 1893.

6 my Ill Z5 .fl

INVENTOH' g mwg UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN FERNALD, OF WELLINGTON, ILLINQlS.

TILE MACHINE AND CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,077, dated March 7,1893.

Application filed June 25, 1892- 'Serial No.43 7.943. (No model.)

curately producing pipes or tiles of difierentsizes, the said pipes ortiles to be constructed from clay or from any composition of theconsistency of clay.

Another object of the invention is to con-' struct the machine in suchmanner that the larger tiles or pipes may be delivered from the machinein a vertical direction, and whereby the smaller tiles or pipes may bemade to leave the machine or mill in a horizontal po-' sition.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means whereby when apredeterminedlength of pipe or tile has left the machine or mill acutter will automatically act to sever the length from the body orcontinuous portion of the tile.

The invention consists in the novel con struction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out inthe claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification,

in which similar figures'and letters of reference indicate correspondingparts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the mill or machine. Fig. 2 is avertical section taken through the center. Fig. 3 is a plan view of thehopper section of the mill, the drive shaft being in section. Fig. 4 isa vertical section through the delivery chamber of the mill, saidsection being taken practically on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5, illustratingthe formation of the operative parts of this chamber when the tile is tobe horizontally delivered. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section through thedelivery chamber, taken practically on the line 55 ofFig. 4. Fig. 6 is adetail view of the cutter and its cam guide, the cutter being shown intwo positions, one in positive lines and the other in dotted lines; andFig. 7 is a plan view of the cam guide of the cutter.

The frame of the machine may be said to consist of a casing A,"'theupper portion of the casing being utilized as a hopper to receive theclay, and being designated by the reference numeral 10. Thelower portionof the casing is divided from the'upper portion by a grate partition 11,which may be provided'with a flat top, or the top of the partition maybe convexed, as shown in Fig. 2. The lower chamber 12 of the casing,formed by the addition of the partition 11, may be properly termed a pugchamber, and the en- 55 tire casing may be designated a mud drum. Thecasing or mud drum A, rests upon a'sec- 0nd casing A, and this casing ismade in two sections, which are designated as 13 and 14:, and theinterior of ,theattached casing A, is used as the delivery chamber. Themud drum A, is tapering, andthe lower casing A, at its upper end, is ofa diameter about equal to the diameter of the lower end of the mud drum.The lower section 14 of the lower casing A, is made more or less angularin cross'section, and is bolted or otherwise remo vably attached to theupper section of the casing; and the upper section of the lower casingis bolted to the mud drum, while all these parts are held in a verticalposition through the medium of suitable legs 15, which legs arepreferably suitably braced".

A shaft 16, isverticallylocated in the central portion of the mud drum,the lowe'rend of the shaft being held'to'rev'olyefin-a-si1it ablebearing located in the lower casing-A. The shaft is capable of. slightupward movement when occasion may demand-as it is mounted to turn in ahub 17, secured in the grating ll, at the central portion thereof. Theupper portion of the shaft 16, is preferably rectangular in crosssection, and the shaft is of greatest diameter between its lower bearingand the grating. Above the grating 5 the shaft has mounted thereon aseries of radial bars or arms 18, the side-faces of which arms are moreor less inclined or beveled, the inclination of all the arms beingin'the same direction, that is, in transverse section the [CO arms arethe same. The arms at their lower edges are preferably made to conformto the shape of the grating 11; and if the upper face of the grating isconvexed the under surfaces of the arms are inclined, while if the upperface of the grating is straight the lower edges of the arms are of likeformation. The outer extremities of all the arms, however, are reduced,and are made to enter and turn in an annular space 19, located beneath aflange 20, formed upon the inner face of the hopper, the upper edges ofthe arms being flush with the upper face of the flange. The arms alsocarry a series of curved fingers 21, one finger being attached to eacharm at each end; and the outer ends of the fingers travel upon the uppersurface of the flange 20. Thus as the clay is placed in the hopper andthe shaft is rotated, any stones, or like material, that may be in theclay is worked to the outer edges of the arms, or to the inner walls ofthe hopper, and the arms 18, effectually press the clay downward betweenthe bars of the grating into the pug chamber 12, while the revolution ofthe shaft 16, also causes the arms to feed the stones, or other foreignmatter, up their inclined surfaces to the upper face of the flange 20,and as the fingers 21,are constantly sweeping over this surface, theycarry before them the stones or foreign matter until an opening 22, isreached, shown in Fig. 3, at one side of the hopper, and when the stonesare opposite this opening the fingers force them out through it.

Beneath the grating the shaft 16, is provided with a series of radialblades 23. These blades may be of the same length, or may be ofdifierent lengths, and are arranged so that two directly opposing bladeswill not be in alignment, but will be placed at right angles to eachother, as shown in Fig. 2.

Beneath the blades 23 one or more sets of spirally arranged feed blades21, are secured to the shaft, and these blades are located near thebottom portion of the pug chamber. The shaft 16, also carries at theextreme lower end of the pug chamber a disk 25, having a series ofperipheral spiral ribs 26. The blades 23, as the shaft16, revolves, actto pug the earth, while the spiral blades 24 feed the pugged material tothe disk 25, and the latter by means of its peripheral ribs forces thematerial downward into the delivery chamber within the casing A. Thisdelivery cham her is provided in its upper section, at one side,with acircular opening 27, the said opening being partially closed by a nozzle'28, shaped essentially as the frustnm of a cone, the nozzle beinghorizontally located; and within this nozzle, and within the opening 27a shaper 29, is located, being rigidly held in a horizontal position,the shaper being more or less conical, and it is placed at the center ofthe opening 27 and nozzle 28, its widest end facing outward. The outerend of the shaper 29, is practically flush with the outer edge of thenozzle, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. This nozzle and the shaper 29, areonly employed when the tile is to be made small and is to be deliveredhorizontally. A space exists between the outer edge of the shaper andthe contiguous edge of the nozzle, the space being circular, and whenthe clay is forced out through this space it is of tubular form.

I will first describe, however, the construction of the mill when it isadapted to deliver large tiles and in a vertical direction: When largetiles are to be formeda shaper B, is employed, located within thedelivery chamber. This shaper at its lower end is somewhatsemi-spherical or semi-circular as illustrated at 30 in Fig. 1, and thelower edge of the shaper is practically. flush with the lower edge ofthe lower section of the said casing A, and the space between the lowerportion of the shaper B and the lower end of the lower casing A,determines the thickness of the tile to be formed, as the space iscircular and the material is forced out through this space to producethe tile.

A hub 31, is attached to, or is rendered an integral part of the loweror shaping portion 30 of the shaper, and in this hub the lower end ofthe shaft 16, has a bearing. The hub is provided at its upper end with acap 32, located horizontally beneath the delivery disk 25, and this capis provided with a circular opening 33, located around the hub, and witha flange 34., which extends downward to a bearing against an innerannular rib orprojection formed upon the lower section of the lowercasing A, as is likewise best shown in Fig. 2. By this means the shaperB, is held in a fixed position within the delivery chamber of the mill,and the flange cuts off all communication between this chamber and thenozzle 28.

At one side of the mill, upon its base, a socket 35, is produced,'andabracket 36, is usually located above the socket. In this socket andbracket a vertical shaft 37, is loosely mounted, and ahorizontal arm 38,is attached to the shaft 37in such manner that it will be immediatelybelow the bracket 36 when the shaft is in its normal position; and thisarm carries at its inner end a post 39, which is adjustable within thearm, and this post is provided at its upper end with an attached orintegral table 40, and a foot rest 41, projected outward from the tablein direction of one side of the mill. This table is adapted to support apallet 42, and the pallet is adapted to receive and support a tile whenit is finished, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2.

The shaft 37, carries a cutter O, and this cutter, as shown in Fig. 6,consists of a skeleton body4=3,which is somewhat semi-circularly shaped,approximating somewhat the letter U in shape. The frame of the cutter ishorizontally located, and is provided with a hub 41 at one end, the saidhub being usually mounted upon the shaft 37; and the extremities of theframe or body of the cutter are connected by a cutting wire 45. Thecutter is supported by a spring 46, the spring coiling around the shaft37. The hub of the cutter frame rests upon the upper portion of thisspring and the 7 lower end of thespring has bearing upon the bracket 36,while a slight distance above the hub a collar 47, is secured upon theshaft in such a manner as to render it adjustable. The hub of the cutterframe is provided with an outwardly-extending arm 48, carrying afriction roller 49; and the upward movement,

of the cutter frame is limited by a stop 50, attached to the frame ofthe mill, and adapted to engage with the upper surface of the arm orextension 48 of the cutter frame, as is.

shown in both Figs. 1 and 2. The cutter O, is adapted to executea partof a revolutiomand this is brought about through the action ofa cam D.This cam is of peculiar construction, and is secured to the frame-workof the supporting mechanism of the body of the mill. It is shown indetail in Fig. 7, and in position in Figs. 1 and 2.

The cam comprises two tracks 51 and 52, the two tracks merging into eachother at top and bottom. One of these tracks is curved to throw the wirethrough the tile and return it to its place, while the other is straightto prevent the wire from interfering with the next tile, and each trackis provided with an outer and an inner marginal flange. At the lowerjunction of the two tracks a spring-controlled gate 53, is located,andasecond springcontrolled gate 54, is located at the upper junction ofthe tracks.

The table 40, is normally held in an upper position against the tensionof the spring 46 by means of a lever 55, fulcru med upon a suitable post56, attached to the base of the mill, as shown best in Fig. 1. The outerend of this lever is provided with an adjustable weight 57, and theinner end of the lever engages with the under face of the table.

A platform 58, is established upon the base of the mill, about at thecentral portion thereof, the platform being divided at its center toadmit of the downward movement of the post 39 connected with the table40. The platform, as shown in Fig. 2, comprises two spaced and verticalmembers, each of which has.

journaled at its upper edge a series of friction rollers 59. a

In the operation of the mill, in producing large and verticallydelivered tiles, the material from which the tiles are to be made isplaced in the hopper of the mud drum, pressed through the bars of thegrating, chopped or pugged by the blades 23 and is delivered to the disk25 by the spiral or delivery blades 24; and by means of the ribs 26 uponthe disk, the pulverized material mixed to a consistency suitable toform tile or pipe is pressed downward into the delivering chambercontained in the lower casing section A, from whence the material isforcecl out around the lower end of the shaper B, between the of theshaper and the lower edge ing, the material thus leaving the deliverychamber in a hollow, cylindrical or tubular periphery the lower edge ofthe upper of the cas-* shape, and thelower end of the tile is adapted torest upon the pallet 42. When the weight of the tile upon the pallet issufficient to overcome the resistance of the weighted lever 55 upon thetable the table is pressed downward, and carries with it the shaft 37.The friction roller 49, connected with the cutter frame, rests normallyin the upper portion of the cam D. Thus when the shaft is carrieddownward a sufficient distance to cause the collar 47, to bear upon thehub of thecutter frame, the cutter frame is pressed downward against thetension of the spring 46, and is given a partial revolution by reason ofthe friction roller 49 traveling down the track 52 of the cam; and asthis movement is given to the cutter its cutting wire passes through thecontinuous tile and cuts from it a proper length, and as the tilecontinues to descend, thearm and cutting wire are returned by the lowercam to their original positions. The table will at this time havereached its lowermost position, which as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2,will cause the pallet to rest upon the friction rollers 59, and thetable is held in this position by the operator placing his foot upon thearm 41 projected from the table, the table being maintained in itslowermost position until the pallet is removed from the table and fromthe mill, at which time another pallet is placed upon the table.Pressure is then removed from the table arm 41, and the weight 57, actsto force the table upward to its normal position, and that quitequickly. The lower gate 53 is provided upon the cam track in order thatafter the friction roller has passed the gate and entered the lower endof the cam, it can not return to the track it left but must travel upthe next track 51; and the upper gate 54, is provided in order that whenthe friction roller has passed this gate it can not descend by way ofthe track 51 but must follow the course of the track 52. It will beobserved that this mill is exceedingly simple, that it is economic, andfurther, that it is more or less automatic in its action, the cutting ofthe tile being perfectly automatic. When the tile is to be delivered insmall shapes and horizontally, the lower section 14 of the lower casingA, is removed and likewise the shaper B, and the shaper is substitutedbya stellated plunger 60, shown best in Figs.4and5. The arms of thisplunger are not straight, but they extend from the hub 61 of the plungermore or less tangentially, and the under surface of each arm 62 of thestellated plunger is provided with a transverse recess 63, as is bestshown in Figs. 4 and 5. The stellated plunger receives support by beingfitted over a hub 64, which receives the lower end of the shaft 16, andis formed upon the central portion of a plate 65, the latter beingbolted to section of the lower casing A, closing the lower end of saidcasing and compelling the material inthe delivery chamber to pass outaround the side shaper 29, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

In order that the clay or material employed may not only be fed to theshaper 29 but that it may also be thoroughly pulverized or pugged, a cam66, is formed upon the upper face of the plate adjacent to the hub 6%,the cam being more or less spiral, and the arms of the stellated plungercan pass this cam only through the medium of their grooves or slots 63,as best shown in Fig. 4:.

It will be understood that in connection with the horizontal shaper anydesired form of cutting mechanism may be employed.

The upper faces of the grating 11, are provided preferably with groovesin order that the clay will cling thereto until forced down through thespaces of the grating.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. In a tile or similar mill, the combination, with ahopper and a grating constituting a partition therein, of a shaft heldto turn in the hopper and likewise in the grating, arms carried bytheshaft and radiating therefrom, the lower edges of which arms engage withthe upper face of the grating, a smooth and flanged sect-ion at theperiphery of the grating, and curved fingers attached to the arms, oneend of which travels upon the smooth surface, being adapted to carrystones and the like to an opening formed in the hopper, as and for thepurpose specified.

2. In a mill for making tiles or like articles, the combination, with ahopper, a grating constituting a horizontal partition in said hopper,and a flange formed above the periphery of the grating, of a shaft heldto turn in the hopper and grating, arms carried by the shaft andextending radially therefrom, the side faces of the arms being beveledor inclined, and curved fingers attached to the arms, the said fingersbeing adapted to travel upon the flange in direction of an openingformed in the hopper, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a tile mill or like machine, the combination, with a mud drumprovided with an opening therein at its side, a grating forming ahorizontal partition in the drum, a shaft turning in the drum andpassing through the casing, and arms radiating from the shaft over andin engagement with the upper surface of the grating, said arms havinginclined sides, a flange formed over the periphery of the grating, andcurved fingers attached at one end of the arms, the opposite ends of thefingers being adapted to travel upon the grating, of pug blades attachedto the shaft beneath the grating, spiral conveyor blades secured to theshaft below the pug blades, a delivery disk also carried by the shaftand located beneath the conveyer blades, a delivery chamber locatedbeneath the delivery disk, and ashaper contained in the said chamber, asand for the purpose set forth.

4:. In a tile mill or like machine, the combination, with the deliverysection of the mill, of a shaft capable of end movement, an arm attachedto the shaft and carrying a table adapted to receive a pallet, a cutter,springsupported and loosely mounted upon the shaft, said cutterconsisting essentially of a U-shaped frame and a cutting wire, a collarsecured to the shaft above the cutter, an arm projected from the cutterat its pivot point and provided with a friction roller, a cam comprisingone spiral and one straight track, united at their ends and adapted toreceive the friction roller of the cutter, and a Weighted lever having abearing against the table, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with the delivery section of a tile mill, of acutter located beneath the same, comprising an essentially U shaped armand a wire connecting the ends thereof, a pivotal support maintainingthe cutter, an arm projected from the pivot of the cutter and carrying afriction roller, and a cam adapted to receive the friction roller,comprising two oppositely-curved and spirally shaped tracks convergingat their upper and lower ends, as and for the purpose specified.

6. The combination, with the delivery section of a tile mill, of acutter located beneath the same, comprising an essentially U -shaped armand a wire connecting the ends thereof, a pivotal support maintainingthe cutter, an arm projected from the pivot of the cutter and carrying afriction roller, and a cam adapted to receive the friction roller,comprising two oppositely-curved and spirally-shaped tracks convergingat their upper and lower ends and provided with spring-controlled gatesat their junctions, as and for the purpose specified.

7. In a tile mill, or a mill of a similar charaeter, a receiving chamberthe base of which is provided with a hub and a spirally arranged cam,the chamber being also provided with an outlet and a shaper locatedwithin the outlet, a stellated plunger held to revolve in the chamberover the base, the arms of the plunger being provided with recesses orslots to receive the cam, as and for the purpose specified.

S. In a tile mill, or like machine, the combination, with the pugmechanism, of a delivery chamber the base of which is provided with ahub and a spirally-arranged cam, the sides of the chamber being providedwith an outlet and a shaper located therein, and a stellated plungerheld to turn in the chamber upon the hub of its base, the arms of theplunger being tangential to its hub and provided with openings or slotsto receive the cam, as and for the purpose specified.

JOHN FERNALD. Witnesses:

WILLIAM S. W001), EDWIN A. DELL.

IIC

